It was a time without cell phones — instead, blocky home phones were attached to the wall and were limited by cord length. A time where essays were typed on typewriters, not personal computers. A time without remote control television or browsers like Google Chrome. Although difficult to imagine now, the 1980s teenagers had a vastly different culture.
Prior to the ‘80s, chemistry teacher Supriya Moore grew up in India. As a teenager, she was not exposed to music from other countries, as television was monitored by the government. She grew up listening to Bollywood, and it was not until college that she discovered Music Television, more commonly known as MTV. As soon as school ended, she would run home to watch music videos from her favorite groups, including rock bands Van Halen and REM.
Prior to the ‘80s, chemistry teacher Supriya Moore grew up in India. As a teenager, she was not exposed to music from other countries, as television was monitored by the government. She grew up listening to Bollywood, and it was not until college that she discovered Music Television, more commonly known as MTV. As soon as school ended, she would run home to watch music videos from her favorite groups, including rock bands Van Halen and REM.
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“I would be like ‘Turn on the TV!’ and I would be dancing,” Moore said. “It was very catchy music and something completely new. I knew my parents didn’t approve of me dancing to Western music and listening to rock and stuff, and that was my rebellion.”
In addition, Moore furthered her love for music by purchasing physical copies of her favorite songs on tape. When Michael Jackson released his hit song, “Thriller,” Moore gathered the allowance she had saved from six months of chores to purchase it. Like Moore, math teacher Colin Anderson recognizes the influence of MTV on people’s experience with music. He witnessed a transition from listening to solely audio to watching music videos on screen. During the ‘80s, Anderson considered music very diverse, with new genres rising in popularity. To this day, he still enjoys listening to songs from the 80s. “Michael Jackson got big, but there were also — New Wave really came out, things like New Order and Joy Division and Talking Heads,” Anderson said. “Music was kind of all over the map but a lot of really interesting things. Rap music exploded and so it was a lot of fun.” |
Music not only influenced teenagers like Anderson but also had an impact on general fashion trends. According to Anderson, people in the ‘80s generally resorted to a more preppy look and dressed in polo shirts. However, celebrities popularized certain styles that were more unique as well.
“For a little while, the Rockabilly look really came back, with a band called Stray Cats. The Rockabilly was a 50s sort of look,” Anderson said. “For the women, the girls, the Madonna look was really popular. A lot of lacy stuff. Girls would show up with one black lacy glove.” Unlike Moore and Anderson, English teacher David Clarke was not as affected by the pop culture of the era. During the 1980s, Clarke was consumed with things he considered to be more important, such as transitioning into adulthood. “The kind of popular culture that we were aware of when we were your age was not as important,” Clarke said. “We had other things to worry about. What I was primarily concerned with was going to grad school, trying to find a career and then trying to find a place to live. I was thinking about when do I want to get married and have a family.” |
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In the beginning of the ‘80s, people began exploring the new devices that sprang up in the technology industry. Household devices like the answering machine and TV remote control were invented and people started purchasing digital watches, handheld calculators and even personal computers.
“When I was younger in the ‘70s, [technology] was a big deal because for my birthday I got the game Pong,” Anderson said. “I had Pong and Atari and those were games you had to plug in your television to play.”
Pong, a tennis-like game involving two virtual paddles and a ball, was one of the first video games to emerge under Atari corporations. For Anderson, receiving these games for the first time was a personal coming-of-age.
“When I was younger in the ‘70s, [technology] was a big deal because for my birthday I got the game Pong,” Anderson said. “I had Pong and Atari and those were games you had to plug in your television to play.”
Pong, a tennis-like game involving two virtual paddles and a ball, was one of the first video games to emerge under Atari corporations. For Anderson, receiving these games for the first time was a personal coming-of-age.
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Like Anderson, Moore did not grow up with smartphones or the internet until later. Even when these devices did become more popular, they were not nearly as convenient or efficient.
“Actually [at] first, we used to call [them] mobile phones,” Moore said. “The first one that I saw in movies used to be this big. People would carry it. Because usually the phones were attached to the wall and you had to go run and get them.” Clarke is particularly sensitive to the differences in technology between the ‘80s and present day. As a past employee at Silicon Graphics, Clarke developed unix systems and worked on the internet before there were even browsers. Although he does think there were some technological changes in the ‘80s, Clarke attributes the greater advances to the 1990s. “The world wide web came in online around 95, mid-’90s with Netscape and the browsers and all that sort of stuff,” Clarke said. “The ‘80s were much more like the ‘70s, ‘60s, and even the ‘50s, whereas the late ‘90s into the year that you’re in now are far different. [Technology] was around in the ‘80s, and you could see the potential, but it wasn’t embedded in consumer culture.” |
Living in India, Moore often had to face a patriarchal society, where a man had to accompany her no matter where she went. Being a teenager, she often disregarded these rules through her own form of teenage rebellion, describing a specific instance in which she wanted to hang out with her younger cousin and aunt.
“We were like, ‘Let's go watch a movie,’” Moore said. “We went and saw the movie, and then when we came back, it was like the world had ended. ‘How dare you guys go out by yourself? What would have happened? If something had happened, who would be responsible?’ Then we were grounded and not allowed to go out anymore.”
At the time, Moore had no choice but to accept her consequences and live within the rules. Now, because she still visits India frequently, she is able to compare her experience with teenage girls living in modern Indian society.
“Back then, we thought that was the norm,” Moore said. “We were different. All the others were, they were following the rules. But now, I don't think that's the case. When I go back home, I see girls having fun, I see them in shopping malls, eating ice cream, doing whatever they want.”
“We were like, ‘Let's go watch a movie,’” Moore said. “We went and saw the movie, and then when we came back, it was like the world had ended. ‘How dare you guys go out by yourself? What would have happened? If something had happened, who would be responsible?’ Then we were grounded and not allowed to go out anymore.”
At the time, Moore had no choice but to accept her consequences and live within the rules. Now, because she still visits India frequently, she is able to compare her experience with teenage girls living in modern Indian society.
“Back then, we thought that was the norm,” Moore said. “We were different. All the others were, they were following the rules. But now, I don't think that's the case. When I go back home, I see girls having fun, I see them in shopping malls, eating ice cream, doing whatever they want.”
On the contrary, Anderson believes that his hometown, Santa Cruz, has become more intolerant of issues present in the 1980s. According to Anderson, Santa Cruz was already a liberal community throughout his teenage years, but the residents have become more withdrawn because of their struggles.
“[Santa Cruz] is still quite liberal,” Anderson said. “If anything, I think there's more backlash, slightly more complaints. Because I think it's just the crime, the homelessness, the drugs. It's becoming more obvious and so people are [starting] to really resent that, they want something to happen. They're a little bit less accepting.” On the whole, Anderson does agree that within other aspects of life, ideologies have been shifting for the better. Being able to compare his teenage experiences to that of those 20, 30 and even 40 years into the future, the change in mindset is apparent. “What the issues were then compared to now, there is progress,” Anderson said. “You do see things changing. You know, back then, the big idea was either part-time South Africa or awareness of AIDS. And with AIDS, the ideas towards gays and lesbians have made significant changes. You go back and reflect, and some things are significantly better.” |
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For all three, the ‘80s were full of memories. When asked what he thinks about the decade, the first words Anderson says are, “It was crazy.” For Moore, the ‘80s bring one word to her mind: nostalgia.
“It's always a special time, from puberty till you go to college, even your first two years of college,” Moore said. “That's your time. You could be 40, 50, but when something from that era plays, you're just immediately transported back to when you were young. But for me, the ‘80s, it's my time.”
“It's always a special time, from puberty till you go to college, even your first two years of college,” Moore said. “That's your time. You could be 40, 50, but when something from that era plays, you're just immediately transported back to when you were young. But for me, the ‘80s, it's my time.”